I use my experience as a reporter, executive, and consultant to zero in on the need, asking the right questions and making recommendations for how my clients can successfully move forward. I build trust with senior leaders quickly and work with their teams and other stakeholders to develop strategic plans, work priorities, staffing structures, internal and external communications strategies, and effective processes and systems. 

I’ve spent my career thinking about the big picture vision and how best to achieve it while bringing my peers and teams along with me. It’s not enough just to be a dreamer of dreams or an effective manager of people. You have to learn to be both.

Bringing experience across sectors

Making a meaningful difference has always been a driver for me. I began my career as a reporter at the Los Angeles Times and Orlando Sentinel. I loved telling stories that could change public policy but I was impatient with the pace of change. I wanted to use my reporting and writing skills to create more immediate impact. I transitioned from journalism to the international humanitarian organization Oxfam America, where I started as a writer and eventually became vice president of public engagement. I found a true home for my activism and a real need for my ability to get things done quickly and well while remaining calm and keeping a sense of humor. I led a large, fast-paced, high-volume communications team that built brand, fundraised, and launched advocacy campaigns for Oxfam in the US.

Most recently, I was principal and chief strategy officer at NEWCO Strategies, a Washington, DC-based strategic consulting firm. There, I got to lean into issues that were unfolding right here in this country, and I supported C-Suite leaders at US-based nonprofits via leadership coaching and training workshops. 

Committed to helping others

Growing up in California, I watched my parents, immigrants from Sri Lanka, rebuild their lives in the US. My mother worked to get an associate’s degree and eventually become an oncology nurse, union organizer, and landlord. My father worked at a cooking spices factory, cashing in his pension to help my older sister and me pay for school.

From an early age, I was taught two lessons: always do my very best work, and contribute my talents and skills to the greater good. I brought those principles with me to UCLA, where I was editor in chief of the student newspaper during a time of great debate on campus about issues such as immigration, bilingual education, and affirmative action. From there, I went on to earn a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

I now live in the Boston area with my husband and two daughters. On the weekends, you’ll find me trying not to scream on the sidelines of my kids’ soccer games or attempting to sneak in a movie with my husband.